


Remotely Plausible

by sunflowerseedsandscience



Series: Early On [8]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Episode: s01e16 Young At Heart, Episode: s01e17 E.B.E, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-19
Updated: 2016-10-19
Packaged: 2018-08-23 08:09:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8320408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflowerseedsandscience/pseuds/sunflowerseedsandscience
Summary: Scully reaches her breaking point.





	

Scully meets her mother for brunch on a Sunday, a few days after the incident at Kathy's cello recital. It's been a standing Sunday date for them for years, and now, it's the one thing they can do together without feeling the glaring absence of her father. Even when he'd been alive, he'd never joined them for Sunday brunch. It had always been strictly a mother-daughter thing.

Scully's glad the bruising from the Kevlar vest is hidden by her blouse- and even more relieved that Maggie knows nothing about what happened at the concert. With her father's loss so recent, the last thing she wants is for her mother to be worrying about losing a daughter, as well. Maggie had sounded nearly hysterical on the phone when Scully had called from Mulder's car the day Jack Willis had died, on the way back to the Hoover building after having her lip and wrists checked out at the scene. It had shaken her to hear her mother, who has always been the picture of composure and stoicism, sobbing almost incoherently, and Scully had been briefly annoyed at both Mulder and at Ethan for worrying her.

"It was on the news, Scully," Mulder had said. "That's how Ethan found out. I didn't want your mom to find out the same way."

Scully had shown up for brunch expecting to hear a laundry list of reasons why she shouldn't be in the field, how it was just too dangerous and how she should really go back to teaching at Quantico... but so far, Maggie has surprised her. They've chatted about safe subjects, Bill's upcoming wedding and Charlie's daughter starting ballet lessons, but Scully's still waiting for the impassioned pleas she's been preparing to steel herself against.

"How's work going?" Maggie asks, finally, and Scully tenses.

"It's fine," she replies. Maggie purses her lips.

"I don't know that I would classify being held at gunpoint as 'fine,' Dana," she says, and Scully sighs. She opens her mouth to retort, but Maggie holds up a hand. "I'm not going to nag you about this," she says. "When Ethan spoke to me, I got the feeling he was hoping I would... but I told him, this is your life, your choice, and I'll respect that." Scully's eyes narrow.

"When did Ethan speak to you?" she asks, and Maggie suddenly looks sorry to have said anything.

"A few days ago," she admits. "I called your apartment while you were out, and he answered."

"And... what? Asked you to convince me to quit my job?"

"Not in so many words, no," says Maggie. "But he did have a lot of very leading questions about how I deal with knowing you're in danger every day."

"I'm not in danger every day, Mom. A pretty big portion of my job is done behind a desk, or in an autopsy bay, or in police stations and cars and motel rooms. It's not nearly the constant life-or-death situation Ethan is making it out to be."

"I know, Sweetie," says Maggie. She pauses, looking down at her hands.

"Mom," says Scully, "whatever it is, spit it out." She braces herself... but what comes out of her mother's mouth takes her wholly by surprise.

"I'm just wondering whether or not Ethan has the temperament for this sort life, Dana," says Maggie. "Being with someone in your line of work... I imagine it's a lot like being married to your father was. Not everyone is cut out to be the spouse of a soldier, or a sailor, or a police officer. There's that worry, every time they leave, that you're kissing them goodbye for the last time, that this time, they won't come home." She takes a sip of her coffee. "When we lived in base housing, I saw more than a few marriages- and people- crumble under the stress. It takes a certain kind of partner- and a certain kind of relationship- to survive a career like yours. You need to be prepared for the fact that Ethan might not be built for it."

Scully's dimly aware that her mouth is hanging open. Her food sits forgotten in front of her. Maggie's smile is distinctly smug.

"Not what you expected me to say?" she asks. Scully grins.

"Not at _all_ ," she says. Maggie reaches across the table and takes her daughter's hand.

"Sweetheart," she says, "I'm not going to pretend I don't wish you were in a safer career. But it's your choice, and I respect it. That's what I always told your father, and it's what I told Ethan, as well." She nibbles at her toast. "So tell me about this partner of yours."

"Mulder?" Maggie nods. "Mulder is... he's different. He's brilliant, as smart as they come, but working with him...." She smiles and shakes her head. "It's an experience, I'll say that much."

"Ethan doesn't seem to like him," remarks Maggie. Scully looks down at her plate.

"No, he doesn't."

"Dana," says Maggie, a coy smile playing at the edges of her mouth, "are you blushing?" Scully's eyes snap up.

"Wha- no! No, of course not!" But now, of course, she _is_ blushing. Maggie grins.

"Well, no wonder Ethan doesn't like him," she chuckles. "Maybe his concern over your career is less to do with your safety than I thought."

"Mom," says Scully, exasperated, "he's an excellent agent and a good partner. He has my back. He's the one who figured out where Jack... where I was being held. I might not have been found if it hadn't been for Mulder. Ethan should stop and think about that the next time he decides to complain about him." Her mother's eyes are still twinkling. "What?"

"Is he handsome?"

" _Mom._ " She shakes her head. "Can we talk about something else? Please?" Maggie obliges immediately, but Scully's reddened cheeks are far slower to depart.

 

\-------------

 

Mulder's mother calls him on Sunday afternoon. She calls once every few months, generally, just to check in, though she frequently seems to forget whatever he's told her from one conversation to the next. Like now.

"How's Diana doing?" she asks, and Mulder sighs.

"She left almost a year ago, Mom," he says. "She went to Europe. I told you that."

"Did you?" asks Teena distractedly. "I must have forgotten. I'm sorry to hear that, Fox. Is work going well, at least?"

"Well enough," he says. "I have a new partner. Did I tell you that already?"

"No, I don't think so," says Teena. "What's his name?"

" _Her_ name is Dana," he says. "Dana Scully. She's a forensic pathologist."

"Oh," says Teena. "Do you mind it much? Being partnered with another woman?"

"Well, Diana wasn't really my partner," says Mulder. "We just consulted together on a few cases."

"Is she easy to work with? Your new partner?" He laughs.

"'Easy' isn't the word I'd use to describe it," he says. "But she's... she's crazy smart, Mom. She rewrote Einstein as an undergrad. She argues with me about _everything_. It used to drive me up the wall, but now...." He doesn't quite understand his sudden need to share Scully with his mother. He doesn't share much of _any_ thing with her, he hasn't for years- she'd only known about Diana because she'd asked who the woman who kept answering his phone was- but for some reason, he wants his mother to know all about Scully. "My work is better for it," he says. "She really makes me prove myself, even on the little things. Our solve rate's gone through the roof, and she-"

"Fox, Honey, I need to get going now," Teena says abruptly. "Sissy Prescott's expecting me for bridge in a bit. I'll talk to you soon, all right?" And she's gone, before Mulder can say another word.

He supposes he can't expect his mother, who shows a minimal amount of interest in his life at the best of times, to be very interested in how his new partner fits into his life. Especially not when he's having a hard enough time defining that himself.

 

\----------------

 

Late Sunday evening, Scully gets a call from Mulder, telling her to pack a bag and get ready to head to Tennessee first thing in the morning.

"Want me to give you a ride?" he asks. "I can pick you up on the way to the airport." She can't help smiling. 

"It's not on your way, Mulder," she says. "In fact it's pretty far out of your way."

"So what?"

"I appreciate it," she says. "But I think I might be staying at my mother's place tonight." There's a pause.

"Everything okay?" he asks. "With you and Ethan?" She opens her mouth to speak, but at that moment, the apartment door opens, and Ethan walks in, his gym bag slung over his shoulder.

"I can't talk about it right now," she says quietly. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?" She hangs up and turns away from Ethan without a word. In the bedroom, she pulls out her carry-on and begins packing. Ethan stands in the doorway, watching her.

"Another case out of town?" he asks, when it becomes clear she's not going to speak first. She nods shortly. "You'd think you might get more than a weekend off after being shot."

"I wasn't shot, Ethan," Scully snaps. "I have some bruising from the vest. It's nothing." Ethan's eyebrows raise.

"I was just joking," he says, hands up in surrender. "I get it, it's your job, you can't say no. I understand."

"Do you?" There's no mistaking the coldness in her voice. Ethan stares, flabbergasted.

"I think I'm missing something here," he says.

"Yes, you are," she replies. "When I said I needed you to be supportive, to accept that my job is important to me and that I'm going to be on the road frequently, and you promised to try, I expected you to keep your word."

"I have, Dana!" says Ethan. "I really was just joking! There's no need to-"

"How about when you spoke to my mother?" demands Scully, whirling on him. "Were you just joking then?" Ethan's mouth opens and closes soundlessly. "What did you think, Ethan? That she wouldn't tell me? You thought that _you_ hadn't been able to talk me into leaving the FBI, so you thought, what, you'd freak her out enough that she'd take your side and maybe I'd listen to her?" Scully shakes her head, throwing things into her suitcase with unnecessary force. "She was a Navy wife for over thirty years, Ethan. She's not some needy, fragile flower you can work into a state by suggesting her daughter is putting herself in constant danger."

"I never said-"

"Save it, Ethan," says Scully, slamming the top of her suitcase down and zipping it up. "I've had enough. I'm done." Ethan's face goes white, and in that moment, Scully knows: he'd never actually expected her to say enough is enough.

"Dana, please...."

"I want you to pack your things. I'll be back in a few days, and by that time, I want you gone. If you want to stay here tonight, I'll go to my mother's house."

"You can't expect me to walk in the door and-"

"I'm through talking about it," says Scully firmly. She pulls her packed case off of the bed and pushes past Ethan. "Leave your key on the coffee table before you go." And with that, ignoring his protests, which increase in volume the further she gets, she leaves.

 

\------------------

 

_"I think it's remotely plausible that someone might think you're hot." That was the best you could manage._

He's been beating himself up over his half-assed compliment since the moment it had left his lips. He'd had more important things to occupy his mind immediately after, but now, they're sitting by the side of this highway in Washington State, waiting for their quarry to pass, and he's bored out of his mind.

Of _course_ she's hot. The plausibility of that statement is not in any sort of question. There are a thousand better ways he could compliment her. He hopes she knows he was joking, being flippant, but... she's seemed a bit preoccupied these past few days. Maybe she wasn't in the mood for his jokes.

"Everything okay with you, Scully?" he asks now.

"I'm fine, Mulder," she says, not looking away from the road.

"Okay, but beyond being fine, is anything wrong?" She purses her lips. "You can talk to me, you know. I'm good for more than just whacked-out conspiracies." That earns him a small smile.

"I know you are, Mulder," she sighs. "I'm just trying not to think about it when we're working, you know?"

"I can respect that," he says, nodding. "I just want to know you're all right, is all."

"I am," she says. "Or at least, I will be." There's a pause. "I ended things with Ethan," she admits, finally. "The night before we went to Tennessee. That's why I stayed at my mothers- I was giving him time to pack up and move out."

Mulder is profoundly relieved that Scully is looking out of the windshield, away from him, because he's fully aware that the expression on his face is the exact opposite of what could be considered appropriate. He just barely manages to adopt a more sober countenance in time for her to turn to face him. He reaches out and rubs her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Scully," he says. "I know you were hoping it might work out."

"Was I?" she asks. "I'm not so sure. I feel like maybe I took a little too much pleasure in showing him the door."

"What finally did it for you?" he asks. She raises her eyebrows at him. "If you don't mind me asking, that is. It wasn't because of what happened at the Christmas party, was it?"

"No," she says. "Things were rocky before then. Truth be told, they were rocky before you and I had even met." She quiets as a tractor trailer approaches on the highway, but it's not the one they're looking for. "But on Sunday... I found out he'd talked to my mom, that he'd tried to play on her fears that something might happen to me in the field. He thought maybe she'd help him talk me into leaving the FBI... or at least going back to Quantico."

"Wow," says Mulder. He's known Scully less than a year, but he's got a good enough read on her to know that this was a colossal misstep on Ethan's part.

"Yeah," sighs Scully. "It made me realize that he'd never had any intention of being supportive of my being in the field. He was planning on faking it until he figured out a way to make me decide to go back to Quantico on my own."

"Is that... is that something you _want_ to do, Scully?" She looks at him like he's lost his mind.

"Are you kidding?" she asks. "Mulder, the work we do may not be conventional, not by any standards, but that doesn't mean I don't love it." He can't help the grin that spreads across his face.

"Admit it, Scully," he says. "It's not the work you love. It's getting to hang out with me so much." She rolls her eyes.

"That does play a part in it, yes," she says. "A very _small_ part." She leans her head back against her seat, looking at him. Her eyes are soft.

"You know, Scully," he says, "You could have stayed with me Sunday night, if you'd wanted. You didn't have to drive all the way out to your mom's." Scully's eyes widen. "Not like that! I just meant... I'd already offered you a ride to the airport, so it would have saved time. You could've taken my bed, and I could have crashed on my couch. I sleep there most nights, anyway." Scully raises her eyebrows.

"You have a bed, Mulder?" she asks. "Why'd you have me settle you on the couch when you got shot, then? What was wrong with the bed?" _You weren't in it,_ he thinks.

"There's no TV in my bedroom," he lies. "Listen, Scully, I'm not trying to make things awkward. I just want to make sure you know you can ask me for help whenever you need it. Okay?" She nods, and lifts the binoculars back up to her eyes. Conversation over.

Mulder is fully aware that mentally celebrating the end of Scully's relationship with Ethan makes him a pretty terrible friend. Which is why he convinces himself that really, what he's celebrating is that Scully's finally free from a guy who didn't deserve her, that she's been miserable with him anyway, that a woman as strong and independent as Scully has no business wasting her time on someone that controlling.

But he's only human, and he can't help the excitement that's bubbling up inside him. Scully had told him, when he'd first kissed her, when they'd needed to put an entire motel room between their bodies in order to keep their hands off one another, that she wasn't saying no. She was saying to ask again sometime.

It looks like "sometime" is about to become "now."


End file.
